Accused 'Monroe madam' accepts plea deal in Manhattan

NEW YORK -- Accused “Monroe Madam” Anna Gristina has accepted a plea deal, pleading guilty to a single count of promoting prostitution, courthouse sources have told The New York Post.

Under the terms of the deal, Gristina will be sentenced to six months in prison, which will essentially amount to time served. Gristina and her husband, Kelvin Gorr, live with her four children in Monroe.

“Your honor, I would gratefully like to accept the plea,” Gristina said in a Manhattan court on Tuesday.

Gristina had faced a maximum of up to seven years prison if convicted at a trial that had been scheduled for next month. A plea would deprive New York of what promised to be a sensational trial, offering salacious details and a rare glimpse into what the Manhattan district attorney claims was a multi-million dollar prostitution ring catering to some of the richest men in the world.

Prosecutor Charles Linehan said Tuesday that they were unable to mount much more of a case against Gristina, according to the New York Post. Gristina has until now steadfastly maintained she ran nothing more than a high-end matchmaking service, hooking up wealthy clients with beautiful single women.

Gristina was arrested in February to much fanfare, with prosecutors claiming she ran a big bucks hooker ring out of an Upper East Side apartment. They claimed that a five year probe by the DA's public corruption unit turned up hundreds of hours of wiretaps, and that the well-connected Gristina laundered millions, boasted ties to top officials and law enforcement, and had minors involved in her operation.